Chicken Nanban
Crisp fried chicken in sweet vinegar with tartar sauce.
Ingredients
- 600 g Chicken thighs
- 60 g Cornstarch
- 3 Egg
- 3 tbsp Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu)
- 4 tbsp Rice vinegar
- 3 tbsp Sugar
- 4 tbsp Kewpie mayonnaise
- 400 ml Neutral oil
- 2 Scallions (optional)
Method
- Hard-boil one egg for the tartar, then cool it under cold water and peel.
- Pat the chicken dry, then coat it in beaten egg and cornstarch.
- Whisk the soy, vinegar, and sugar into a sweet-vinegar sauce.
- Chop the boiled egg and mix it with the mayo and scallion into a tartar.
- Fry the coated chicken in hot oil until deep golden and cooked through, then toss in the sweet-vinegar sauce.
- Serve the chicken topped with the tartar sauce.
Tap “Start cooking” for live timers that flag what to get ahead on while something simmers.
About Chicken Nanban
Chicken Nanban hails from Miyazaki in southern Japan, a regional specialty that has since become a nationwide comfort favorite. The dish hinges on a clever one-two punch: crisp fried chicken is dunked while still hot into a sweet-and-sour vinegar sauce, then crowned with a rich, egg-studded tartar. That combination of tangy glaze and cool, creamy sauce over hot crunchy chicken is what makes nanban so addictive — sweet, sour, savory, and rich all colliding in a single bite.
The chicken here gets a light egg-and-cornstarch coating that fries up crisp without a heavy batter, and tossing it in the sweet-vinegar sauce right out of the oil lets the meat drink in flavor while the exterior holds its crunch. The homemade tartar, built from chopped hard-boiled egg, Kewpie mayonnaise, and scallion, is chunkier and tangier than anything from a jar and cuts the sweetness beautifully. Serve it with steamed rice and shredded cabbage, the classic accompaniment, for a plate that balances the richness. It's a genuinely satisfying way to reimagine fried chicken for dinner.
Chicken Nanban: frequently asked questions
How many calories are in Chicken Nanban?
A serving has about 684 calories — 31.1g protein, 25.8g carbs, 49.8g fat, 0.6g fiber. Figures are estimated from the ingredient amounts and will shift with your portions and brands.
Is it high in protein?
Each serving has about 31.1g of protein, roughly 18% of its calories.
Is Chicken Nanban gluten-free?
As written, no — it contains Japanese soy sauce (koikuchi shoyu). You'd need a certified gluten-free swap for that ingredient to make it gluten-free.
How long does Chicken Nanban take to make?
About 35 minutes start to finish, but only around 22 of those are hands-on — the rest is cooking time. In the Homecooked app the timers and parallel steps are sequenced for you so the hands-on part feels even shorter.
Do I need every ingredient to make Chicken Nanban?
The core ingredients are essential, but you can leave out scallions — they're optional and mainly there for extra flavor or finish.
How many servings does Chicken Nanban make?
This recipe makes 4 servings. In the app you can scale it up or down and the ingredient amounts adjust automatically.